Fined £30,000 for waste
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by Roger Simpkiss • Chobham-based haulier Alan Greenwood & Co (Transport) is to appeal against a £30,000 fine and £10,404 costs for tipping controlled waste without a waste management licence.
Guildford Crown Court took three days to reject director Alan Greenwood's defence that the company was tipping clean inert soil on a former council tip at Mizens Farm, Woking.
The company refuses to comment, but the appeal will be heard on 7 August.
Surrey County Council enforcement officer Brian Collier described finding TV cable, metal, plastic and rubble in soil dumped in a 50m2 area.
Other witnesses reported seeing Greenwood trucks tip asbestos sheet, tarmac, concrete and brick on the site. More than 30 Greenwood trucks tipped at the site on 7 June alone, one witness said.
Court recorder Bernard Phelvin gave Greenwood six months to pay the fines and promised substantial fines for companies that tip illegally. "The attitude of this company was casual to an extreme," he said. "This was a flagrant and commercial operation."
Greenwood told the court that he thought the tip needed no licence because it was a former council tip. "We pride ourselves on running a very good business," he said. "We are proud of our services and were surprised when this prosecution was brought."
But the council produced a series of independent witnesses who confirmed that they had seen Greenwood trucks dumping construction material after passing along a specially built haul road. The council also received complaints from the public.